On the same evening and I was lucky enough to grab some time with The Get Alongs and 3's A Riot, The Pretty Great Whites also made time for a quick interview. As well as being awesome musicians, this is a band of four of the nicest gentlemen I've had the pleasure of meeting. Bringing me my drink, making space for me and my friend to sit down and politely waiting for me as I faffed around with all my uni notes, these boys have the whole package... and their fans know it! So what did the Kris, Dave, Kane and Liam have to say for themselves?
***
First of all, boring question but, who are your biggest influences?
Liam: The Who, The Jam, all that really!
Dave and Kris (in unison): Sham 69
Liam: Yeah, Sham 69
Kane: Paul Weller too, legend.
Ahh Paul Weller, I'm a fan. Looking forward to hearing your stuff then... So they are huge rockers with loads of stories to tell, but I want to know what's been your biggest rock and roll moment so far?
Dave: Rugfest
Liam: Rugfest
Kane: Rugfest
Kris: Rugfest was a rock and roll moment because... well... I can't remember much of it... We had no shoes on... guitars got broken and it went down quite well!
Liam: Basically we drank beer from a wellie!
Eeeew. That reminds me of particularly treacherous game of Ring of Fire...
Kris: Grim. Yeah, you know really the people who come follow us regularly... they're all off it. That's partially because we hang out with them. We drink with the fans, everyone gets smashed and has a good time.
Awh that's nice you have a close relationship with fans! So, you're not adverse to being drunk on stage at all, what with those two alcoholic drinks in your hands Kris...
Kris: *Shrugs* It gives you the courage. The majority of my life I spend...
Liam: Wasted. On the p**s.
Kane: On the floor.
Kris: Drunk. And that's where the songs come from. When you're drunk you're more likely to take in what's around you and when you do that, you write a song. If they're written under the influence, they should be performed under the influence! It puts your heart in it!
Makes sense! So you guys write all of your lyrics then? Where does the inspiration for the songs come from... apart from the bottle...
Kris: Every song is inspired by something in the world around us. Like, the first song is inspired by a prostitute druggie wino, then the last one is about government propaganda and oppression and stuff. Like, none of our songs are commercialized they're all social commentary.
*Rest of the band gazes in awe at the eloquence of their drunkest member* Wow ok, so you're tackling some pretty heavy issues there, not going to lie.
Kris: Well, David Cameron is a f**king w***er, he just sits there behind his desk.
Do I sense a labour voter then? Lib Dem perhaps?
Kris: I don't follow any of them. To be fair, Lib Dem told me they'd legalize marijuana.
Yeah, and they told me that they'd make uni free. They lied.
Kris: They chat sh*t don't they? They just want a bit of that *rubbing fingers together to signify money* don't they? We're the ones that work and pack cheese for a living so they should just f**k off.
Liam: Pack cheese?
*Band laughs*
Dave: But yeah, in answer to your question, we write our own lyrics.
*Can't help but laugh* Ok, do you know the other bands that are performing at HippyHaze? Who would you like to perform with if you could?
Liam: Emilio Pinci straight up.
Kris: We've known him for like, seven years and he's an amazing writer and guitarist
Yeah well I haven't had much experience of meeting him yet but I hear great things so I'm looking forward to it. I'm probably going to need to interview him soon...
Kris: Well you know what, at any point when you're there and he's there, just come and find me and I'll introduce you. Are you going to be at HippyHaze? *Everyone looks baffled at his question*
Yeah... my dad is the organizer, remember?
Kris: Oh yeah, yeah yeah. Anyway, I'll introduce you. He's a top guy!
Fab! Ok, so who has a girlfriend and who hasn't?
Kris: Liam is a dedicated boyfriend!
Liam: If it counts, we met at our first gig...
Awhh that's sweet!
Kane: Basically she's a groupie.
*Laughing* Leads me to my next question. Would you s**g a groupie?
Dave: Oh yes.
Kris: Hell yeah.
Kane: Without a doubt.
That's what we like to hear! One more question... what's your favorite milkshake from The Hippy Hippy Shake?
Kris: Have you done a Pretty Great Whites one yet? That one.
No we haven't yet, but we will, I promise.
Liam: The Kinder Bueno one.
Dave: White Maltesers.
Random stranger: Blackcurrent Cheesecake.
Kris: To be honest, I've only tried a bit of the 3's A Riot one. It was dead good. It tasted pukka!
Well it's been really nice to meet you guys, I'm so glad I've had an opportunity to interview you all. Thanks for your time.
The Pretty Great Whites: Thanks.
***
Labeling themselves an 'indie/post punk' band, The Pretty Great Whites seem to have a very large following of Stoke-based fans and I'm now one of them! Songs to listen out for are Fake Romance and Pretty Little Scumbag... check out their MySpace page and see if you can resist bouncing around your bedroom to these two tunes. I challenge you. Can't wait to see them perform at HippyHaze this Easter, not sure about you guys, but I'll be directly in front of the stage screaming like I love them. Join me? Like you'd be able to resist, The Pretty Great Whites really know how to rock a venue, and we're chuffed to have them on-board :)
TICKETS ARE SELLING OUT FAST SO MAKE SURE YOU HEAD INTO THE HIPPY HIPPY SHAKE COMPANY IN NEWCASTLE OR HANLEY AND GET YOURS NOW. £14 FOR A DAY PASS INCLUDING ONE NIGHT CAMPING AND JUST £33 FOR A THREE-NIGHT CAMPING TICKET. PLUS IF YOU BUY A 3 NIGHT TICKET, GET ANY REGULAR SHAKE FOR FREE!
Love and milkshakes
The Hippy Hippy Shake Company
No comments:
Post a Comment